


got me down on both knees

by apinchofcyanide



Series: the devil trying to hold me down [1]
Category: Batman: Arkham - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-06-08 08:31:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15239472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apinchofcyanide/pseuds/apinchofcyanide
Summary: What are you afraid of, Jason Todd?





	got me down on both knees

**Author's Note:**

> Requested: Jay/Jonathan in the _Arkham_ universe. This takes place during _Arkham Knight: Genesis_.
> 
> **Please make sure to read the note at the end.**

“ _Crane_! Are you just gonna stare at him?”

Through the ripped and bloody mask, Jason narrows his eyes. He’s been subjected to so many beatings over the last six months that they’ve all started to run together now, a never-ending stream of fists and iron and razor-sharp edges. He hardly feels it anymore. Each bruise is an inevitability, something Jason has resigned himself to as a simple fact of life. He is beaten, the Clown slings his lies— ** _truths_** _, don’t be stupid, Jason; you know everything he says must be **true** , why the hell else would you still be here_—and then he is left alone, nothing but the echoes of that terrible laughter and his own screams to keep him company until the whole wretched cycle starts again.

Tonight, though—tonight is different. He calls it their _anniversary_ , and something like disgust, like utter revulsion, breaks through the numbing fog in Jason’s head. It doesn’t last long. Boles, that crooked son of a bitch, opens the door and shoves Killer Croc through, and Jason retreats back into himself. Detachment is the only road to survival.

Something else is different, too. Unlike the others, Scarecrow has yet to lay a hand on him.

He grips Jason’s chin, turns his head to the side to reveal the place where the Clown branded him. The mocking _J_ that he hasn’t seen yet but can feel regardless. He learned the shape of it from the Joker, gloved fingers tracing their handiwork lovingly. Scarecrow makes an assessing noise, those needle-points barely scraping across Jason’s skin. The fact that Scarecrow hasn’t made his move yet is so far removed from this new normal that Jason is used to, and it frightens him. He hates that, that this freak could illicit such a response from him, and the fear shifts, turns into anger, something white-hot that he can use to his advantage. Scarecrow turns his head again, so that he’s looking up into that ridiculous mask, and Jason bares his teeth.

“I know, he’s so _pretty_ to look at, my little bird,” says the Joker from somewhere behind him. “Especially like this. Red’s really his color, wouldn’t you say!” He erupts into laughter, and Jason lets his eyes fall shut for a moment. _Kill me_ , he thinks, _just fucking end this_.

He hates himself for not being able to say the words out loud, hates the Joker and Scarecrow and all the other Rogues for treating him like a toy they can pass between themselves until it breaks, and most of all, he hates _Bruce_ , for giving up on him so easily, for manipulating him into believing that someone actually gave a fuck about him.

For leaving him here to die.

“Doc- _tor_!” sings the Joker. “If you don’t get a move on, I’m afraid we’re going to have to cut this appointment short!”

Scarecrow gives a thoughtful hum, distorted by his mask. “If your end-game is what I suspect, then I have methods which you might find useful, Joker.”

The Joker laughs again, delighted. Suddenly he’s in Jason’s space, hand on Jason’s forehead, pulling his head back until he has no choice but to look at that smile. “You hear that, sonny-boy? Ol’ Batsy would be so proud of you, bringing people together like this!”

 _Would he have been_ , Jason thinks. Had there ever been a time when Bruce was actually proud of him?

The Joker looks up, then, and his impossible grin stretches even wider. “I think the doctor will see you now, sonny-boy,” he says, and begins to laugh. He keeps laughing as he backs away, and he’s still laughing as Jason levels his gaze at Scarecrow, the fear toxin pumping through the tubing on his suit.

“What are you afraid of, Jason Todd?” Scarecrow asks. Jason spits blood at the mask.

“Nothing,” he says. It’s the truth. The only thing that had ever scared him was the thought of disappointing Bruce, and wasn’t that funny?

The joke had been on Jason all along.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi. If this story/premise seems familiar to you, it's because you've probably read it before. I'm reposting my fic, all of which was taken down by AO3 a few weeks ago. It's fine, I'm totally over it. (Narrator: She wasn't.) I'm absolutely sick that all of your lovely comments and kudos from the first time around were deleted. If you find it in your heart to read this story again and comment or leave kudos, you're the best, and I love you. If you're reading this for the first time and you enjoy it, you're also the best, and I love you.


End file.
